Advertisement

It's time for Friday's 10 Big Ten headlines

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer -
11 months ago

If it’s Friday, it must be time for another football-is-bad-for-your-brain story. (That’s your cue to act shocked.) Then again, these stories are churned out seemingly every day. And, for good reason. THIS JUST IN: Football is a dangerous sport and really can’t be made into a safe sport, no matter how hard P.R. folks or the NFL try to convince you.

Raise your hand if you are worried about the future of the sport? That’s what I thought. Look, we all know why the NFL is behind that “Head’s Up” football tackling campaign. The league’s future is at stake. Soccer Mommies won’t let their little Zachs, Colins and Aidens play football for fear of … you know … getting their brain scrambled.

What would these billionaire NFL owners do with their billion-dollar stadiums if there was no football? There are only so many tractor pulls.

And what would TV networks show on Saturdays and Sundays? Lumberjack Games? World’s Strongest Man? (I admit, I am a fan of Magnus Ver Magnusson.)

The NFL—and colleges, for that matter—have a LOT of money at stake in convincing Joe and Jane Suburbia who live on leafy cul-de-sacs in fairytale suburbs that are a 30-minute drive from downtown that football is safe.

I don’t care what you teach or how you teach it, football is just a dangerous sport that’s gonna result in violent collisions that aren’t good for the head. Period. End of story.

Head’s Up tackling? Really? That’s the solution to make football safe? You can’t make football safe or free from head collisions. Stop it.

Will Head’s Up make any impact? Will it prevent some injuries? Perhaps. But, it’s not a panacea for head injuries. No technique is. Again, it’s football. It’s like riding a motorcycle, an inherently dangerous activity that can never be made totally safe—unless you just don’t ride a motorcycle.

A 35-second shot clock has been in use since 1993-94. The ACC’s hope for using a truncated clock is to speed up the game and have more possessions. Hey, I’m all for a quicker tempo. It will be interesting to see if scoring increases.

***

The Big Ten A.D. meetings this week created a stir, as many vital topics were discussed. NCAA reform was a big one. Buckeysports.com caught up with Ohio State A.D. Gene Smith to get his opinion on a subject that promises to forever change collegiate athletics.

“You can hold on to the principles and essence of the collegiate model, but the collegiate model has to adjust to the 21st century,” Smith said. “Intercollegiate athletics has changed. We need to shift within the model in recognition of that change. The student-athletes have changed, the families have changed, the K-12 system has changed, society has changed.

“Our scholarship model is four decades old, so that’s why it’s so important to get this autonomy because the bureaucracy of 351 schools and 32 conferences makes it impossible to change the way we need to change.”

***

The Ed O’Bannon lawsuit vs. the NCAA continues to weave its way through the courts. And some Big Ten powers have been called to testify as part of the NCAA witness list: Michigan A.D. Dave Brandon, Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and Michigan State A.D. Mark Hollis.

O’Bannon is the lead plaintiff in an antitrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA. The case argues that players — after graduation — should be paid for the NCAA’s usage of a player’s image or likeness. It’s kind of a big deal. The trial is set for June 9 in Oakland, Calif.

Bottom line: I think if Miller is drafted—a big IF–it will be very late. If Troy Smith couldn’t make it in the NFL, I doubt Miller will. He’s a special quarterback because of his running skills—not his passing skills. And, as we all know, running quarterbacks have no future in the NFL.

“Yeah, it was pretty funny to me … well, not really funny,” Harris said. “I was measuring 6-4 1/2 in shoes, and I don’t think I have 2 1/2-inch soles in my shoes. It was like 6-2 1/2 — still, I don’t think my soles were two inches. I don’t know what’s going on with that, but at least I’m not playing barefoot, I guess.”

BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men’s basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

Name(required)

Email(required)

My Question for Tom(required)

And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.